Molao Wins

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MATHANGWANE: The Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) has retained the Tonota North parliamentary seat, after stemming the tide against a combined opposition onslaught in a by-election over the weekend.

Fidelis Mmilili Molao of the BDP comfortably defeated the joint opposition candidate, Dr Habaudi Njiro Hobona of the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) and Mbayani Phalalo of the Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin (MELS). The former Botswana National Youth Council (BNYC) executive director garnered an impressive 4,575 votes, while Hobona got 2,617. Phalalo was third with a paltry 62 votes - even the 140 spoilt ballots exceeded his tally.

Although touted as one constituency with a high number of illiterate voters, this time around, the number of rejected votes has gone down compared to the 2009 general elections figure of 162. But a challenge still remains for the stakeholders to educate the masses to ensure  the rejected votes are reduced drastically or eliminated altogether.

Editor's Comment
Inspect the voters' roll!

The recent disclosure by the IEC that 2,513 registrations have been turned down due to various irregularities should prompt all Batswana to meticulously review the voters' rolls and address concerns about rejected registrations.The disparities flagged by the IEC are troubling and emphasise the significance of rigorous voter registration processes.Out of the rejected registrations, 29 individuals were disqualified due to non-existent Omang...

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